Grade 3 students from Iron Ridge Elementary in Blackfalds sign O' Canada at a Blackfalds Bulldogs Jr. A hockey game on Feb. 10, 2023. (Scott Stimson)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

inclusion

Iron Ridge Elementary students continue anthem signing tradition

Feb 18, 2023 | 8:00 AM

The Sign Club at Iron Ridge Elementary in Blackfalds is simply carrying on tradition in recently performing O’ Canada at a local hockey game.

The AJHL’s Blackfalds Bulldogs welcomed the club to its Feb. 10 game, which was also known as Superhero Night, to sign the anthem using what’s called Sign Exact English (SEE).

For the club, which goes back 20 years at Iron Ridge, this was another fun stop on their yearly schedule which also includes Red Deer Rebels games and the school’s Remembrance Day ceremony.

Iron Ridge Principal Maureen Schlemko was the one with the bright idea two decades ago, back when she taught grade two and had a student with a cochlear implant.

“The club is for our grade threes who are our oldest students, and they are here to lead in our school. So when they get there, they have that opportunity,” says Schlemko, who runs the club once a week during the lunch hour with educational assistant Brenda Park.

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About 60 of the school’s 100 grade threes attended the Bulldogs game.

Grade 3 students from Iron Ridge Elementary in Blackfalds sign O’ Canada at a Blackfalds Bulldogs Jr. A hockey game on Feb. 10, 2023. (Scott Stimson)

Schlemko notes they also practice when the anthem is played each morning, and they performed during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.

“I’ve been in this building for many years, and we’ve only ever had two students who actually needed a sign language interpreter. The cochlear implant technology is so much better now, so they can hear things,” she explains.

“Last year at the Rebels game we did, we had feedback from a parent unrelated to our school; she happened to be at the game, had seen what we did, and one of their family members who was also at the game is deaf. They were super excited about seeing that.